Modesto Fire Department

Dylan James
Modesto Fire Department
The Modesto Fire Department was a group, in 1875 that organized a volunteer fire department which, in the years that followed they did their best to keep a good fire organization; while there city was plagues by fires. In the early days before cities, like Modesto, had professional firemen and modern equipment that was outdated, because the raging fires were exactly the same back then as they are now. The volunteer fire department was an honored civic organization. The men that had higher jobs in the community such as judges, lawyers, mechanics, merchants and clergy appreciated their volunteering the most.
In 1881, almost all the business houses on Ninth Street were destroyed by fire. In 1884, all the properties between 9th and 11th streets were burned, and in 1889 another fire would have destroyed a large part of the business district instead except for the fact the city had finally put fire hydrants, because they realized there were to many fire out brakes in the city of Modesto, but even though they had fire hydrants the water pressure was barely able to keep the fires under control. The last big fire of old Modesto occurred in 1901, when the wooden shacks and buildings on 11th and I streets were burned down completely. It left the city in complete shock, and they need to figure out a way to get these outrageous fires under control.
George E. Wallace prevailed upon joining the volunteers in 1909. In 1910, he became regular-paid firemen. His equipment still consisted of the handcarts, but a new team of dapple-gray horses, which were a great edition to the fire department named “Prince” and “Charlie.” They were purchased by the City of Modesto, and in 1912 the first piece of modern fire equipment was bought, the Pope Hartford hose and a chemical truck. George Wallace was the fire Chief for 39 years. Since then the fire